Conventional methods of evaluating optical elements utilize the standard Modulation Transform Function (MTF) evaluation and images which are transmitted by refracting optical elements. Such methods which base evaluation on images which are transmitted by refracting optical elements cannot elicit optical quality information about individual surfaces of the optical elements.
The present invention is a novel improvement over previous methods and apparatus for evaluating optical elements which allows for evaluating the contribution of individual optical element surfaces to the overall optical quality of such elements and systems containing such elements.